Laguna Canyon's future at a crossroads

March 14, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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The flow of cars for the morning rush hour make their way along Laguna Canyon Road early Wednesday morning in this time exposure taken from a trail in the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park in Laguna Beach. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Re

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Cars make their way along Veterans Memorial Highway or as it is better know, Laguna Canyon Road in Tuesday morning. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register

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Cars make their way along Laguna Canyon Road past a sculpture in front of the Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach Tuesday afternoon. The college, in the canyon since the '70s, plans to expand to 650 students in the next 10 years, which means the campus may look at acquiring more buildings near the main campus. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register

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A mailbox along Laguna Canyon Road Tuesday afternoon in Laguna Beach. Those who call the canyon home subscribe to a rustic lifestyle. Rumor has it the trails, which weave between homes, were used in the 1960s and '70s by the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, to escape police officers after busted parties. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register

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A Red-tailed Hawk sits on a limb of a dead tree in the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park along Laguna Canyon Road in Tuesday morning. Much of the nature seen in the canyon is part of the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, which connects to Aliso Creek and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park to the south and all the way to Crystal Cove State Park to the north. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register

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A sign for Laguna Coast Wilderness Park along Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach Tuesday morning. Much of the nature seen in the canyon is part of the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, which connects to Aliso Creek and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park to the south and all the way to Crystal Cove State Park to the north. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register

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The Irvine Co. will complete three new communities in the next two years, two on Laguna Canyon Road called Laguna Altura and Hidden Canyon, and an apartment community called Los Olivos at the former Wild Rivers site. The developments will have nearly 900 homes and about 2,000 apartments. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register

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The entrance and sign along Lake Forest Road in Irvine for the Laguna Altura housing development. The Irvine Co. will complete three new communities in the next two years, two on Laguna Canyon Road called Laguna Altura and Hidden Canyon, and an apartment community called Los Olivos at the former Wild Rivers site. The developments will have nearly 900 homes and about 2,000 apartments. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register

A cyclist rides past the painting "Midsummer Sunset at the Big Bend" by Saim Caglayan in the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park along Laguna Canyon Road in Tuesday morning in Laguna Beach. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register

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People walk along a trail in the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park in Laguna Canyon Tuesday afternoon. Much of the nature seen in the canyon is part of the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, which connects to Aliso Creek and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park to the south and all the way to Crystal Cove State Park to the north. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register

Tex Haines owns Victoria Skimboards in Laguna Beach. In the photo Haines sits in the living room of his home in Laguna Beach. Victoria Skimboards is located along Laguna Canyon Road and just 10 minutes away by car in easy traffic. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Tex Haines owns Victoria Skimboards in Laguna Beach. Victoria Skimboards is located along Laguna Canyon Road and just 10 minutes away, in easy traffic, from Haines' home in downtown Laguna. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Massachussets native Daisymae Blossom first came to live in Laguna Canyon in 1969 and continues to live in the same home along Woodland Drive just off Laguna Canyon Road. The home she rents is about 100 years old, relocated from an area along the beach in Laguna to where it is today. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Laguna Canyon resident Daisymae Blossom dedicates much of her time to art, like this pastel she drew of an Indian girl with angel wings in 2009, entitled "With Open Arms." DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Oil painter Ken Auster owns Auster Studio located along Laguna Canyon Road. Auster on the second floor of his studio on Sunday afternoon sits on a couch he often uses to clean his brushes. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

Oil painter Ken Auster owns Auster Studio located along Laguna Canyon Road. Auster on the second floor of his studio on Sunday afternoon stands alongside a landscape he painted of Borrego. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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"Walk the Canyon" to save Laguna Canyon on Nov. 11, 1989. More than 7,000 people walked in support of preserving the open space. COURTESY OF GENE FELDER

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The view of Laguna Canyon and the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park from Skyline Drive in Laguna Beach on a recent Sunday afternoon, looking north. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

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Homes and businesses line much of Laguna Canyon Road along small streets, lanes and paths -- the steep hills rising along the canyon offer no real exit except east or west along the road itself. DAVID BRO, FOR THE REGISTER

The flow of cars for the morning rush hour make their way along Laguna Canyon Road early Wednesday morning in this time exposure taken from a trail in the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park in Laguna Beach. Mark Rightmire, Orange County Re

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Those who live and work in the canyon call it the "Wild West."

"What happens in the canyon stays in the canyon," said Arts Commissioner Ken Auster, who has a studio there.

Eclectic services, businesses and organizations, such as Jeeps R Us, McCormick & Sons mortuary, the Blue Bell Foundation for Cats and the Laguna Canyon artists' studios, cradle the winding country road, holding a part of the town in a time capsule.

The canyon is also home to the homeless shelter, resource center and the day laborer site.

However, some people question if the funky folkland can stay the same with increasing development in Irvine, tourism, traffic and high-priced homes that reflect a standard of living that's higher than most can afford.

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"We're characterized by our hardiness," said Victoria Skimboards founder Tex Haines. And it's no wonder – they've been hit hard by destructive fires and floods over the last 70 years, taking their homes, businesses and even people in the mudflow.

Although Victoria Skimboards' products span 23 countries, it still maintains its original and only storefront.

"The amazing thing is that we've survived," said Haines, who co-founded the store in 1976.

During the 1993 fires, an employee called him standing on the roof of the store. As embers landed on the roof, he broke a skylight to grab computers and documents. The building could have gone up in a flash because of the acetone barrels used for making boards, but it didn't.

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Those who call the canyon home subscribe to a rustic lifestyle. Sculptures, chimes, kilns and planters made from odds and ends scatter across lawns.

Rumor has it the trails, which weave between homes, were used in the 1960s and '70s by the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, to escape police officers after busted parties.

Daisymae Blossom lives off Woodland Drive, a street that was at the center of it all. She arrived with her ex-husband in the summer of 1969. Without a place to stay, they camped in the street, only to wake up surrounded by as many 15 dogs. The dogs belonged to the brotherhood to ward off strangers, she said.

She remembers living next door to Crazyhorse, a sword-swallowing Cajun Indian. His parrot Pedro would walk the telephone lines. One day Blossom was walking outside and thought she heard someone cursing at her. It was Pedro.

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The Laguna College of Art + Design, in the canyon since the '70s, plans to expand to 650 students in the next 10 years, which means the campus may look at acquiring more buildings near the main campus.

And canyon folk are about to get some neighbors up the road.

The Irvine Co. will complete three new communities in the next two years, two on Laguna Canyon Road called Laguna Altura and Hidden Canyon, and an apartment community called Los Olivos at the former Wild Rivers site. The developments will have nearly 900 homes and about 2,000 apartments.

The positioning of Laguna Altura and Hidden Canyon doesn't pose a threat to Laguna Canyon, according to Mary Fergaus, the former and founding executive director of the Laguna Canyon Foundation.

At a recent City Council meeting, Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson questioned the potential traffic impact from the new neighbors.

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Much of the nature seen in the canyon is part of the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, which connects to Aliso Creek and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park to the south and all the way to Crystal Cove State Park to the north. If it weren't for the community, City Council and public agencies, the canyon could look very different today, Fergaus said. In the late '80s, the Irvine Co., which owned the property, was going to create a community called Laguna Laurel, with about 3,500 homes, a school and a firehouse, she said.

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Aside from more traffic and fewer hippies, most say the canyon hasn't changed much over the years.

However, the same question always lingers in residents' minds. People like Haines wonder if the bohemian, rural culture of the canyon can outlast the "mansionization" and commercialism of downtown.

"I've been here long enough that I know there will be certain changes," said Jan Fabrick, owner of Gecko Cookie Company. "I truly believe in the big scheme it will stay the way it is."

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